Need fat?

[TKHaller]

If I eat a high fat meat like ground beef or bacon do I still need to have a serving of cooking or eating fat? 

[ShannonM816]

Bacon is generally more fat than protein (although I hear that in other countries it's a little different than in the US, so if you're somewhere else, that may not be the case), so for it, I'd count a couple of pieces of bacon as my fat, and have that in addition to a serving of protein.

Ground beef, it's hard to say. Do you drain the fat off, or are you actually eating it? If you drain it off, definitely add some that you eat. Even if you don't drain it off, it wouldn't hurt to have a serving of fat along with it. 

In general, cooking fat doesn't really count toward your fat in your meal unless you're actually eating it. For example, if you fry some eggs, they don't really absorb much fat, so unless you actually pour the fat from the pan over your food, you're not actually eating it. Also consider that if you put a tablespoon or two of fat in while you're cooking, but then you actually make 4-5 servings, you're not really eating much of that fat in one serving, it's getting divided up. 

The real test for any of this is, do your meals keep you satisfied for 4-5 hours at a time. If they don't, you need to increase something. 

[DianeD]

Can I use chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds as my fats? I am starting April 1 and trying to get my meals planned.

Diane

 

[ShannonM816]

1 hour ago, DianeD said:

Can I use chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds as my fats? I am starting April 1 and trying to get my meals planned.

Diane

 

You can.

Keep in mind that nuts and seeds aren't the greatest source of fat -- they don't have a great omeg-3 to omega-6 ratio, they can easily be a "food with no brakes," in other words, something that it's really easy to overeat without even really thinking about it, and for some people, especially if they're eaten in large quantities, they can cause digestive issues. So have them occasionally if you want to, remembering that a serving size is a closed handful, but don't go overboard with them.

[DianeD]

19 hours ago, ShannonM816 said:

You can.

Keep in mind that nuts and seeds aren't the greatest source of fat -- they don't have a great omeg-3 to omega-6 ratio, they can easily be a "food with no brakes," in other words, something that it's really easy to overeat without even really thinking about it, and for some people, especially if they're eaten in large quantities, they can cause digestive issues. So have them occasionally if you want to, remembering that a serving size is a closed handful, but don't go overboard with them.

 

Thanks, Shannon! I will use them to sprinkle on my salads.  Countdown is 2 days to my Whole 30 start! 

Diane